The clinical management of numerous neurological disorders has been frustrated by the progressive nature of degenerative, traumatic, or destructive neurological diseases and the limited efficacy and serious side-effects of available pharmacological agents. Conditions such as degeneration, injury or trauma to the nervous system have eluded most conventional pharmacological attempts to alleviate or cure the conditions.
Traumatic injury to the spinal cord, also called spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to functional impairments due to the death of neurons and glial cells and to the disruption of the axonal pathways. The primary insult, however, triggers a cascade of pathological events, known as secondary injury, which develops hours and days after the primary injury, resulting in further tissue damage and functional loss. The inflammatory response contributes strongly to secondary damage after SCI by releasing cytokines, free radicals, eicosanoids and proteases, among other molecules (Jones et al. (2005) Curr Pharm Des 11: 1223-1236).
Currently, only one therapeutic agent, methylprednisolone (MP), is considered standard therapy after traumatic SCI. MP is a synthetic glucocorticosteroid that has been subjected to several large-scale human clinical trials and showed minor clinical benefits when administered within 48 hours of SCI.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by degeneration of motor neurons, and is associated with inflammation and elevated levels of reactive oxygen species. It ultimately results in muscle paralysis and respiratory failure. No effective treatment has yet been found for ALS, although riluzole has been recently approved for the treatment of ALS. Riluzole delays the onset of ventilator-dependence or tracheostomy and the deterioration of muscle strength in some patients. However, it is associated with several side-effects.
Thus, there is a need for novel methods and products to prevent and/or treat neural diseases and conditions such as SCI and/or ALS.
The present description refers to a number of documents, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.